'Outsourced' Producer Bob Borden on Stereotypes and Sensitivities

The producers of NBC's new comedy 'Outsourced' (premiering Thursday, September 23 at 9:30PM ET) have had to deal with criticisms that most sitcom producers haven't had to deal with. When the original pilot went out to critics, for instance, the show was lambasted for its jokes based on easy Indian stereotypes. But another issue came out that even critics couldn't anticipate: how the issue of outsourcing American jobs to foreign lands is still a sensitive one, especially given the continued soft job market.

But executive producers Bob Borden and Ken Kwapis have taken pains to tell anyone who will listen that 'Outsourced' is more a workplace comedy than anything else. "Cultural jokes won't carry the weight they do in the pilot, in terms of possibly offending people, because we'll have well-rounded characters as we learn about everyone," Borden told me earlier this month.